[AVISO: o conteúdo a seguir trata de temas como depressão e suicídio, podendo ser sensível ou desencadear emoções em algumas pessoas. Se você estiver enfrentando depressão ou pensamentos suicidas, busque ajuda imediatamente entrando em contato com o Centro Voluntário à Vida pelo telefone 188.]
Arturo Gatti Jrson of legendary Italian-Canadian boxer Arturo Gatti (1972–2009), was found dead at the age of 17 in an apartment in Mexico, where he lived with his mother, Brazilian Amanda Rodrigues. The news was confirmed by friends and family.
According to Canadian broadcaster TVA Nouvelles, the young man’s body was discovered by a neighbor. Also according to initial information from the news network, the teenager had committed suicide by hanging.
Arturo Gatti Jr followed in his father’s footsteps in boxing and leaves behind a daughter, Sophia.
Actor and stuntman Chuck Zito, a close family friend, paid tribute on social media:
– It is with a heavy heart that I announce: rest in peace, Arturo Gatti Jr, 17 years old. He was found in an apartment in Mexico, in the same way his father was found dead in Brazil 16 years ago. My condolences to Arturo’s mother, brothers, sisters and daughter, Sophia.
The case rekindles memories of the death of the father, Arturo Gatti, who was found dead in 2009, in a flat in Porto de Galinhas (PE), when his son was still a 10-month-old baby.
Who was Arturo Gatti
Born on April 15, 1972, in Cassino, Italy, and raised in Montreal, Canada, Arturo Gatti became one of the most admired boxers of his generation. Known for his fierce style and ability to withstand intense fights, he won the IBF super featherweight world title in 1995 and, later, the WBC light welterweight title.
His battles against Micky Ward and Ivan Robinson went down in the history of the sport, being considered true boxing classics. Gatti retired in 2007 and died in 2009, aged 37, in a flat on Praia de Porto de Galinhas, South Coast of Pernambuco.
Gatti was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2013.
Arturo Gatti: story of death
Arturo Gatti’s body was found lying in the middle of the room, wearing only underwear. Next to him was a bloodstained bag strap. Experts found two injuries on the former boxer’s body: one on the neck and the other on the back of the head.
Thus began one of the most striking investigations in the police history of Pernambuco, which gained prominence in Brazil and abroad. The case involved suspicions, inheritance disputes, twists and turns and the work of private experts hired by the athlete’s family.
On the morning of July 11, 2009, the southern task force of the Department of Homicide and Personal Protection (DHPP), commanded by delegate Josedite Ferreira, was hurriedly called to Porto de Galinhas. The body of the former Canadian boxer had been found in a flat. His wife, Amanda Rodrigues, told police that she was the first to find her husband and claimed to be in shock, believing that he had committed suicide.
Given this scenario, the police chief requested that Amanda be taken to the DHPP to give a statement, as she was the only adult present at the scene, besides the couple’s one-year-old son. Experienced, Josedite suspected that Amanda had murdered her husband by hanging him while he slept. She denied the accusation and stated that the couple had argued the night before because of jealousy, but that they had both slept afterwards. When he woke up, he allegedly came across the body and called the police.
Even so, Amanda was arrested in the act and charged with murder. According to the delegate, there were contradictions in his report. At the time, he ruled out the hypothesis of someone else having entered the room, stating that this would be “humanly impossible”, as access was controlled by a magnetic card.
Amanda remained in prison for 19 days, until she was released by court decision after a turnaround in the investigations. Reports from the Institute of Legal Medicine and the Institute of Criminalistics concluded that Gatti had committed suicide. Police chief Paulo Alberes, who took over the case, followed the experts’ conclusions and closed the investigation, acquitting Amanda.
However, the boxer’s family did not accept the result. They believed that Amanda had killed Gatti to get the inheritance – especially since the will had been changed a month before his death, benefiting her and her children. Even so, the Pernambuco Public Ministry agreed with the suicide version and asked for the case to be closed.
In 2011, the episode returned to the spotlight when foreign experts hired by Gatti’s family challenged the Brazilian reports. They claimed that although the death occurred due to asphyxiation, the manner of hanging pointed to a homicidal act, not a suicidal one. The divergence led the Public Ministry to reopen the case in 2012.
Prosecutor Paula Catherine Ismail announced new investigations and investigations, placing Amanda once again under suspicion. During this period, the Court of Quebec, Canada, recognized her and her son’s right to an inheritance of US$3.4 million (approximately R$6.1 million).
After further analysis, experts once again confirmed the suicide theory. In 2016, the prosecutor stated that there was no evidence of homicide and that the case was definitively closed. “For me, there is no doubt that he took his own life. The Court accepted the recommendation of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the case was closed”, he declared at the time.
MORE: The best VPNs for watching live sports
